Event/Activity EPM189 - Watching Brief on Portsdown Hill

An archaeological watching brief was carried out by Foundations Archaeology on the excavation of trenches for new electrical cables by Scottish and Southern Electricity on Portsdown Hill in March 2011. The cable ran adjacent to Southwick Hill Road southwards to the junction with Harleston Road and Wymering Lane. A temporary scaffolding platform was erected to the north of the cable trench on the summit of Portsmouth Hill, but this did not disturb the ground surface. A watching brief was commissioned, as the site lay within an area of archaeological potential. The works comprised the excavation of trenches for the new cable run, foundation pits for the replacement of H poles, and two trial trenches to identify existing cables excavated by hand. The cable run down slope to Wymering Lane was not monitored as it was cable ploughed. No archaeological features or finds were identified during the watching brief. However, as the excavations were extremely limited it is possible that unidentified archaeological remains are present within the area.